Algeria H1 Oil, Gas Export Volumes down 4.6 Pct

Algeria's energy export volumes dropped 4.59 percent in the first half of 2015 from a year earlier, prompting a 43.1 percent decline in earnings, the central bank said.

It said in a report that a state fund used to hold surplus oil revenue to cover deficits - Fonds de Regulation des Recettes, or FRR - has experienced a 33.3 percent drop in its resources over the past 12 months.

An OPEC member and a major gas supplier to Europe, Algeria relies on energy for 60 percent of its state budget, and oil and gas exports account for 95 percent of total sales abroad.

Earnings from energy exports reached $18.10 billion in the first six months of 2015, down from $31.97 billion in the first half of 2014, the report said.

It gave no details on export volumes.

The North African country posted a trade deficit of $8.041 billion for the first seven months of 2015, reversing a $3.9 billion surplus a year earlier, due to the sharp fall in energy earnings after the global market crude prices slump.
The government has said it expects energy export earnings will fall 50 percent to $34 billion this year, well below its import bill, estimated at $57.3 billion.